Transnasjonal

Transnasjonal (transnational) is an adjective used to describe processes, networks, and actors that operate across national borders, creating connections that extend beyond a single nation-state. In Norwegian scholarship, the term is often used to describe how people, organizations, ideas, and capital move and interact across borders, forming integrated yet border-straddling social fields.

Contexts include migration and diaspora networks, international business and supply chains, global civil society, and cross-border governance. Transnasjonale networks may involve migrants who maintain family ties and economic ties with home and host countries; firms with multinational supply chains; NGOs conducting cross-border advocacy; or policy networks collaborating across states.

Transnasjonal differs from international, which often denotes relation between states; and from supranational, which refers to institutions with authority beyond the nation-state. Transnasjonal emphasizes the agency of non-state actors and the permeability of borders, as well as the transnational nature of social, economic, and political processes.

Historically, the concept gained prominence with globalization and migration research from the late 20th century onward. It is used across disciplines including sociology, anthropology, geography, political science, and cultural studies. In Norwegian usage, transnasjonal is a direct translation of transnational and is commonly found in academic texts on migration, globalisation, and transborder governance.